NOPD: Cab driver sought in rape of woman near Tulane

The incident happened about 3:30 a.m. Thursday in the 7600 block of Plum Street near Tulane University.

According to the NOPD, a 20-year-old woman was using a cab to return home when the cab driver pulled over and sexually assaulted her.

The victim told police that the cab driver picked her up from a business on Tchoupitoulas Street and she fell asleep in the back of the cab. She told authorities that when she woke up, the driver was assaulting her.

Ronal Serpas, the New Orleans Police Department Superintendent, called on other cab drivers to help in finding the suspect.

"I would also like to send a message to the cab drivers of New Orleans. Cab drivers are good professional hard-working people. You know who this guy is, you know who he is. Tell him to turn himself in. We're coming to get him," he said at a news conference Friday afternoon.

The driver was described by police as a Middle-Eastern man about 40 years old, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall with a muscular build, average size and no facial hair.

The cab company wasn’t disclosed in the news release.

Anyone with information is asked to call NOPD Detective Vernon Haynes at 504-658-5521 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.